DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand Education Department will no longer permit madrasas recognised as schools to observe Friday as their weekly holiday. The Pushkar Singh Dhami government has directed such institutions to follow the education department’s rules and observe Sunday as the weekly holiday, bringing them in line with other recognised schools in the state.
The decision is part of the Uttarakhand government’s wider effort to bring minority educational institutions under a common regulatory framework. The government has maintained that institutions receiving recognition as schools must comply with the rules prescribed by the state’s education authorities.
Minority Education Authority chairman Dr Surjeet Singh Gandhi said registered madrasas that have been recognised as schools are now required to follow the rules and regulations of the Education Department and the authority. Accordingly, Friday will no longer be treated as the weekly holiday, and these institutions will observe Sunday as the holiday.
Madrasas brought under new minority education framework
The Uttarakhand government has abolished the earlier Uttarakhand Madrasa Board and established a Minority Education Board in its place. The new framework covers educational institutions belonging to various minority communities, including Muslim, Sikh, Parsi, Jain and Buddhist communities.
Under the new system, institutions seeking recognition are required to fulfil the prescribed requirements before being recognised as schools.
According to the figures provided by the Minority Education Authority, 452 madrasas had earlier been recognised under the state’s Madrasa Board. Institutions were subsequently required to apply afresh for recognition under the new framework.
Of those that applied, 76 institutions have so far received recognition as schools, after completing the required formalities.
The Education Department currently has 114 applications pending for consideration.
76 madrasas receive school recognition
Dr Gandhi provided a district-wise breakdown of the institutions that have received recognition.
In Dehradun, six of the 41 institutions that applied have received recognition. In Haridwar, 44 out of 270 have been recognised. In Nainital, two of 18 institutions have received recognition, while in Udham Singh Nagar, 24 of 119 applicants have secured recognition.
The government has emphasised that institutions cannot legally operate as educational establishments without the necessary approval from the Education Department and the Minority Education Authority.
Authorities have also warned that institutions operating without the required permission can face sealing action.
250 illegal madrasas sealed
The state government has simultaneously intensified action against unrecognised madrasas.
Minority Welfare Department Secretary Dr Parag Madhukar Dhakate said that 250 illegal madrasas were sealed in the first phase of the enforcement drive.
According to Dhakate, these institutions were not registered even with the erstwhile Madrasa Board. Authorities also found cases where children from other states were reportedly being brought to these institutions for education.
The government has maintained that the enforcement action is intended to ensure that educational institutions operate within the legal and regulatory framework of the state.
Focus on mainstream curriculum
Uttarakhand has several thousand children enrolled in madrasa education. According to the figures cited by the state authorities, around 30,000 children were earlier receiving Islamic education in madrasas.
The Dhami government has been pushing for these students to receive the national curriculum along with other educational requirements applicable to recognised schools.
The government’s position is that educational institutions must provide quality education while complying with common academic and regulatory standards.
‘No policy of appeasement’, says CM Dhami
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has defended the government’s approach, stating that his administration does not want an education policy based on appeasement.
“We do not want an education policy based on appeasement. We want a policy under which every child receives good education,” Dhami said.
He added that the government had framed rules and regulations to ensure that all educational institutions function according to the prescribed standards.
Institutions that fail to comply with the rules, he said, would not be allowed to operate.
Dhami on Friday holiday: ‘Rules are same for everyone’
Responding specifically to the issue of Friday holidays in madrasas, Chief Minister Dhami said that the institutions concerned are now recognised schools under the Education Department.
“Madrasas are now schools recognised by the Education Department, therefore the rules are the same for everyone,” Dhami said.
The government’s decision effectively ends the practice of a separate weekly holiday for recognised madrasas and places them under the same Sunday holiday system followed by other recognised schools.
The move is being presented by the Dhami government as part of a broader effort to establish uniform education standards, regulatory compliance and greater integration of minority educational institutions into the mainstream education framework.
